For six weeks, she had been running. From one mandap to another. One thali to another. One “when is your turn?” to another. She had treated this season like a chore, a gauntlet, a tax on her time.

The priest chanted. The fire crackled. Meera’s mother started crying. Riya’s phone buzzed—an invite for wedding number eight, next weekend.

And then Riya saw Meera.

The third, fourth, and fifth blurred together. Sangeet nights bled into mehendi afternoons. The same DJ. The same playlist. The same three songs that made every aunty rush to the dance floor. By the sixth wedding, Riya had developed a philosophical theory: the Indian wedding season wasn’t a celebration. It was a endurance sport.